The initial results from an experimental drug that causes weight and fat loss in mice have been presented at the Endocrine Society’s 97th annual meeting in San Diego. Known as GC-1, the drug reportedly speeds up metabolism and burning off fat cells.

He explained that until several years ago, scientists thought that only animals and human infants have energy-burning brown fat. “It is now clear that human adults do have brown fat, but appear to lose its calorie-burning activity over time.”

White adipose tissue becomes a so-called ‘metabolic villain’, when the body has too much of it. Some published research shows that people who have more brown fat have a reduced risk of obesity and diabetes. Researchers are now working on ways to convert white fat into brown fat.

GC-1 works by activating the receptors for thyroid hormone, which play a role in regulating metabolism. Thyroid hormone receptors also help with adaptive thermogenesis, in which the body converts excess energy to heat.

Phillips said he and other researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute have tested the drug in hundreds of mice, with partial research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Obese mice, both genetically obese and those with diet-induced obesity, received GC-1 treatment daily.

Genetically obese mice lost weight and more than 50 percent of their fat mass in approximately two weeks, Phillips reported. Treated mice also showed antidiabetic effects, such as a six-fold improvement or better in insulin sensitivity (how well the body clears glucose from the bloodstream). He said mice with diet-induced obesity experienced similar improvements.

The drug also induced adaptive thermogenesis in fat cells isolated from mice. Cells grown in culture in a dish, as well as tissue samples taken from obese mice, showed evidence of white-fat browning.

“Our data demonstrate that GC-1 is a novel fat-browning agent that may have use in the treatment of obesity and metabolic disease,” he added.

The drug has not yet undergone testing for weight loss in humans. GC-1 is being tested in clinical trials for lowering cholesterol, under the name sobetirome.

However, Phillips said the doses of sobetirome used in the cholesterol-lowering studies are much lower than what would be needed for weight loss.

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